Basics of Rotary Screw
Compressor Lubricants
By: Wayne Perry, Technical Director, Kaeser Compressors
Lubricant is a critical component in rotary screw
compressors. Understanding the characteristics
of lubricant types helps ensure their proper ap-
plication and increases customer satisfaction by
extending the service life of compressors. Be-
low we discuss the types of lubricants and then
discuss factors that reduce the effectiveness of
lubricants and cause premature wear or damage
in rotary screw compressors.
Types
There are seven basic types of lubricants used
in compressors today. Each type of lubricant has
advantages and disadvantages for specific appli-
cations.
These are:
1. Mineral oils
2. Synthetic hydrocarbons
3. Organic esters
4. Phosphate esters
5. Polyglycols
6. Silicones
7. Blends (Semi-synthetics)
Mineral Oils
Mineral oils (petroleum oils) have long been used
in various types of compressors. Their use in
rotary screw compressors was common until the
1980s. Some manufacturers factory filled with
motor oil and some used automatic transmission
fluid. Mineral oils began to lose favor when oil
recyclers began to charge for oil disposal. With
oil change intervals as low as every 1000 hours,
many manufacturing plants had to change eight
times per year. An advantage of frequent oil
changes is that contaminants in the compressor
are removed with the waste oil. In highly con-
taminated environments, mineral oil is still used
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for this reason. Mineral oils have the disadvan-
tage of a complex mix of natural hydrocarbon
molecules. There are waxes that solidify at low
temperatures, volatile components that vaporize
and natural mineral oils tend to oxidize quickly,
forming varnish and sludge, when exposed to
high temperatures and elevated pressures.
Synthetic Hydrocarbons
Synthetic hydrocarbon lubricants are engineered
for particular applications. For compressor ap-
plications, polyalphaolefin (PAO) base stock is
most commonly used. PAOs provide many of the
best lubricating features of a mineral oil without
the drawbacks. Although PAO components
are derived from petroleum base stock, they are
chemically re-engineered to have a consistent,
controlled molecular structure of fully saturated
hydrogen and carbon. Because their molecular
structure is homogeneous, their properties and
characteristics are predictable. PAOs separate
from water extremely well, are chemically stable
and have low toxicity. PAOs, however, are not
good solvents. The additive chemistry must be
adjusted for that fact. Additive packages in PAO
lubricants are usually blended to beyond their
saturation point at cool temperatures. Under the
normal operating conditions of compressors, this
is not a problem. The elevated temperature and
constant motion keep the additives dissolved.
When PAO lubricants are stored for prolonged
periods of time, it is possible for some of the addi-
tives to condense and cause the lubricant to have
pockets of cloudiness in the storage container.
These additives will return to solution with a bit of
agitation/stirring. In a paper presented to an en-
gineering meeting in Sweden several years ago,
a major bearing manufacturer shared results of
White Paper: Basics of Rotary Screw Compressor Lubricants
their testing of lubricants for use in rotary screw
compressors. Their conclusion was that PAO
lubricants were the best lubricants for rolling ele-
ment bearings used in screw compressors.
Pure PAO fluids have a tendency to cause certain
low nitrile Buna-N elastomers and some other
synthetic materials to become brittle and crack.
For compressor applications, a small amount of
ester fluid is usually blended in the mix to counter
this tendency. The ester also helps keep addi-
tives in solution.
Organic Esters
The next class of synthetics is the organic esters.
The two primary types used in compressors are
dibasic acid and polyol. Dibasic acid lubricants
are better known as diesters. Diesters were the
most popular synthetic lubricants when synthetic
lubricants first became common in compressor
applications in the 1970s and 1980s. They have
a number of desirable qualities for compressor
applications. They have a stable viscosity over a
wide temperature range, high film strength, good
metal wetting characteristics and a low vapor
pressure at high temperatures.
Diesters are strong solvents. As such, they readi-
ly accept additives, making them customizable for
particular applications. Being a strong solvent,
however, is also one of their primary drawbacks.
Diesters will dissolve paint and varnish, cause
certain common elastomers to swell and deterio-
rate and can damage some common downstream
components of compressed air distribution sys-
tems. Esters can react with water to form corro-
sive acids and volatile alcohols.
Diesters are not commonly used in rotary screw
compressors today, but still enjoy wide popular-
ity among large reciprocating compressor users
where the diesters solvency and resistance to
carbon formation is a plus for extended valve
life. Polyol esters have similar characteristics to
diesters but have the added advantage of be-
ing stable at higher temperatures and oxygen
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concentrations. Although the primary market for
polyol esters has been for use in turbines, these
fluids are being used in some high-pressure ro-
tary screw applications.
Phosphate Esters
Phosphate esters have very limited application.
Phosphate esters have a poor viscosity index,
poor tolerance of heat and moisture and become
corrosive as they degrade. For that reason,
service life is very limited and fluid changes are
required often. They can, however, be made fire
resistant, and once ignited, they will only continue
to burn if the source of ignition remains present.
Petro-chemical plants, refineries and other high-
risk facilities form the primary market for this type
of lubricant.
Polyglycols
Polyglycol fluids, sometimes called PAG fluids
(polyalkylene glycol), were first developed for
natural gas compressors. They can be manufac-
tured from either of two primary chemical stocks,
or a blend of these stocks. Propylene oxide has
the characteristic of being hydrocarbon soluble
and water insoluble. Ethylene oxide has opposite
characteristics, being water-soluble and hydrocar-
bon insoluble. With a gas analysis, blenders can
adjust the amount of each type to produce a final
product with the correct characteristics required
by an individual application. The solubility differ-
ences in the two basic fluids make the chemis-
try of the additive package very important. For
natural gas applications, the fluids are blended so
they are not diluted by the particular hydrocarbon
gas being compressed.
Polyglycol fluids for use in air compressors are
compromise fluids. They were developed to
reduce complaints about poor lubricant life and
varnish deposits. The formation of varnish is an
indication of a petroleum or synthetic hydrocar-
bon lubricant that has failed. Since polyglycols
do not form varnish, there is no visual indication
that the lubricant has failed. Polyglycols attract
water and mix readily. This characteristic makes
White Paper: Basics of Rotary Screw Compressor Lubricants
separation from condensate difficult and reduces
their ability to protect bearings. The saturation
point for these lubricants is much higher than for
mineral or synthetic hydrocarbon fluids, but water
entrained in the fluid beyond this point will sepa-
rate into free water.
Silicones
Silicone fluids have been available for many
years. They have excellent resistance to heat,
oxidation and vaporization. Being chemically
inert, they can be used in applications where ex-
posure to oxidizing agents is possible. High cost,
leakage and poor lubricating properties limit their
proper use to applications requiring their unique
chemical characteristics. Further, there are many
applications that require a silicone-free system,
painting is one example, and silicone lubricants
should be avoided.
Blends (Semi-Synthetics)
Virtually all synthetic fluids, except silicones,
are actually blends of base stocks and additives
engineered to provide the desired characteristics.
When a fluid is referred to as a semi-synthetic,
it is usually a blend of a synthetic stock, usually
a PAO, and most likely a tech white mineral oil.
Tech white mineral oil is the most highly refined
and homogenous petroleum oil available. It is
often referred to as medical or food grade oil.
The goal of most blends is to provide many of
the benefits of a pure synthetic at a lower cost. A
good application for a blended fluid is one where
contamination in the ambient air necessitates
more frequent lubricant changes.
Note: Food grade lubricants are usually either
PAO-based or tech white mineral oil based with a
very limited additive package. This limited ad-
ditive package results in a significantly reduced
service life when compared to non-food grade
versions of the same lubricant.
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Causes of bearing damage in rotary screw
compressors
Water
The most common and most damaging con-
taminant in rotary screw compressors and rotary
screw vacuum pumps is water. The primary
source of water contamination in rotary screw
compressors is the inlet air. Ambient humidity
and the compressors operating conditions affect
water formation in the lubricant circuit. A major
bearing manufacturer has stated, It is well known
that free water in lubricating oil decreases the
life of rolling element bearings by ten to more
than one hundred times. When bearing life
calculations are made, the assumption is that the
lubricant contains 65 to 100 ppm of water. This is
a normal amount of water that can be expected
to be present in new PAO lubricant. An increase
to 300 ppm will result in an actual bearing life of
about half the calculated life. Water content of
1000 ppm or more is not uncommon in operating
compressors.
Water can be present in a compressors lubricant
circuit in both a dissolved state and a free state.
Lubricants, like air, have a saturation point. De-
pending on the type of lubricant, a certain amount
of water will be dissolved in the fluid. Once the
lubricant reaches its saturation point, additional
water will condense to form free water. The ex-
treme examples are pure PAO base stocks that
have non-polar molecules and polyglycol lubri-
cants that have highly polarized molecules. PAO
lubricants are sometimes described as being
hydrophobic because they do not easily combine
with water, reaching their room temperature satu-
ration point at just over 100 ppm. PAO lubricants
separate from water readily so the free water can
be easily drained from the compressor. Polygly-
col lubricants, on the other hand, are sometimes
described as hydroscopic. They combine read-
ily with water and can be found with as much as
one percent of their volume as water molecules
(10,000 ppm).
White Paper: Basics of Rotary Screw Compressor Lubricants
Rolling element bearings, like those used in
rotary screw compressors, rely on elastohydrody-
namic lubrication. That means that the elements
ride on a film of lubricant as they roll across the
race. Lubricants are formulated to have sufficient
film strength to prevent contact between the ele-
ments and the race. The viscosity of lubricants
increases as pressure increases. Under the ex-
treme conditions found in bearing lubrication, the
lubricant can momentarily become a solid. Water,
however, does not increase in viscosity as pres-
sure increases. Dissolved water can weaken the
film strength of some lubricants and free water
has no effective film strength in this type of appli-
cation. As a roller or ball encounters water, there
is insufficient film strength to prevent the element
from contacting the race. This contact, under
conditions of extreme pressure, can cause micro-
fractures. Continued exposure to water can also
cause a condition known as hydrogen embrittle-
ment, increasing the formation of micro-fractures.
This will continue until small flakes of the bearing
surface begin to break away. This debris moving
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through the bearing will cause additional damage
and lead to the failure of the bearing.
When standard petroleum oils were used in ro-
tary screw compressors, the accumulated water
was removed when the oil was changed about
every six weeks (1000 hours). With extended life
synthetic lubricants, water may accumulate for
8000 hours if it is not drained from the separator
reservoir periodically. Without regular monitor-
ing, significant amounts of water can collect in the
lubrication circuit and reduced bearing life can be
expected.
Particulate
Second to water, the most common contaminant
is particulate. In operation, rolling element bear-
ings ride on a film of lubricant that is from 0.1
to 1.0 micron thick. Any particulate larger than
that can cause damage to the bearing. Filtering
to one tenth of a micron is impractical for most
applications. Even filtering to one micron is dif-
White Paper: Basics of Rotary Screw Compressor Lubricants

ficult. Most bearing manufacturers take this into ISO 4406:1999 Fluid Cleanliness Codes
account when calculating L10 bearing life. They Number of Particles per 1 milliliter of Fluid
use the assumption that the lubricant will meet ISO Code Minimum Maximum
the ISO Base-Cleanliness Target for rolling ele- 1 0.01 0.02
ment bearings. 2 0.02 0.04
3 0.04 0.08
Fluid cleanliness rated per the ISO Code is 4 0.08 0.16
reported as a three-number rating such as 5 0.16 0.32
18/16/13. The first number (in this example, 6 0.32 0.64
18) represents the number of particles per mil- 7 0.64 1.3
liliter (about an eyedropper full) of fluid that were 8 1.3 2.5
greater than or equal to 4 microns. The second 9 2.5 5.0
number represents the number of particles that 10 5.0 10.0
were greater than or equal to 6 microns. The last 11 10.0 20.0
number represents the number of particles that 12 20.0 40.0
were greater than or equal to 14 microns. In the 13 40.0 80.0
above example, there would be between 1300 14 80.0 160
and 2500 particles greater than or equal to 4 mi- 15 160 320
crons, 320 to 640 particles greater than or equal 16 320 640
to 6 microns and 40 to 80 particles greater than 17 640 1300
or equal to 14 microns. Each increase in rat- 18 1300 2500
ing number represents an approximate doubling 19 2500 5000
of the number of particulates. The ISO Base- 20 5000 10000
Cleanliness Target for new fluid for rolling element 21 10000 20000
bearing lubrication is 16/14/12. 22 20000 40000
23 40000 80000
24 80000 160000
25 160000 320000
26 320000 640000
27 640000 1300000

Most analysis programs report only a two-number

rating. This two-number reporting is either based
on an older (pre-1999) reporting method that
counted 5 and 15 micron particles or simply the
last two numbers of the three-number system.
There is a slight difference between the 5 and
15 micron rating and the 6 and 14 micron rating
of the newer system, but the practical results are
similar. In other words, the ISO Base-Cleanliness
Target for new fluid for rolling element bearing
lubrication, which is 16/14/12, could also be re-
ported as 14/12.

Knowing the average ISO 4406 numbers for a

particular compressor over an extended period of

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White Paper: Basics of Rotary Screw Compressor Lubricants

time will allow estimation of the particulate con-
taminations effect on bearing life. The following
chart can be used to make a quick estimate.
Using this chart is simple. If the analysis re-
port stated the ISO 4066 as 21/18, for example,
cleaning the lubricant to the point that the rating
improved to 15/12 would increase the expected
bearing life 300%. Another way to look at this
is that the lubricant started at 15/12 and is now
21/18. At 21/18 the expected lubricant life is only
one third of what it would be at 15/12.

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White Paper: Basics of Rotary Screw Compressor Lubricants
The primary source of particulate contamination
in rotary screw compressors is the inlet air. Dirt
and dust making their way through the inlet filter
will show in lubricant sample tests as silicon (or
silica) and possibly aluminum. While dirt and
dust can have different elemental constituents,
including magnesium and calcium, silicon oxides
and aluminum oxides are the most common.
The presence of barium, boron, molybdenum,
phosphorous, and zinc in an oil sample are of
less concern because they are common additives
to lubricants. (though increased levels of zinc
and copper in subsequent samples could indicate
wear conditions of brass components.) If these
elements are found in a sample, where they were
not present in prior samples, it could indicate that
the lubricant was contaminated with another type
of fluid. If these elements are found in the first
sample, but are not in the original lubricant formu-
la, it could indicate a contaminated transfer pump.
It is important to remember that the additive pack-
age in one lubricant may react with the additive
package in another lubricant. For this reason, do
not mix brands of lubricant. This may lead to the
premature failure of the fluid.
Note: Chromium, cobalt, copper, magnesium,
manganese, nickel and iron particulate in an oil
sample are indicative of metal wear.
Additive depletion is also accelerated by the pres-
ence of water and wear particles. Many of the
additives consist of polar molecules. This makes
them attracted to solid surfaces such as internal
metal components. Some additives are specifi-
cally designed for this so they will combine with
metal contaminants, making them easier to filter
out of the lubricant system. Other (anti-corrosion)
additives will adhere to internal metal surfaces to
prevent corrosion.
Oxidation
Because they are mixed with air at high tem-
peratures under pressure, all air compressor
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lubricants will oxidize eventually. The oxidation of
lubricants produces a number of unwanted ef-
fects. As the lubricant begins to oxidize, organic
peroxides will form. As the lubricant continues to
oxidize, alcohols, ketones and organic acids will
form. These compounds will show as an increase
in the Total Acid Number (TAN) on a fluid analysis
report. With synthetic hydrocarbon lubricants, a
TAN increase to 1 is cause for alarm and a TAN
increase of 1.5 indicates a fluid on the verge of
failure. Varnish and other unwanted substances
quickly follow. With regular mineral oils, this
process can begin after only one to two thousand
hours in a rotary screw compressor. Synthetic
lubricants are more stable than natural mineral
oils and oxidize more slowly. Most full synthet-
ics have an 8000-hour service life rating or more.
Note that Food Grade lubricants behave differ-
ently! Consult the manufacturer to determine the
behavior over time of a specific lubricant.
When PAO synthetics were first introduced, their
additive packages were not well engineered. As
the anti-oxidant package was depleted and the
fluid reached the end of its service life, the lubri-
cant could progress from good to completely po-
lymerized (varnish) in a matter of days. Although
newer formulated additive packages have greatly
reduced this problem, synthetics should still be
changed when they reach their service hour or
calendar life, regardless of sample analysis.
Some of the byproducts of a lubricant that is very
near the end of its useful life will likely remain in
the lubrication system after it has been drained.
It is very important to remove as much of the old
lubricant as possible. The additive package of the
new lubricant will react to these byproducts as
contamination, rapidly depleting the additives in
the new lubricant. It is not unusual for the life of
fresh lubricant to be reduced to as little as 25% of
its expected life when the system is not complete-
ly and thoroughly drained and cleaned. For this
reason, it is important to remove the fluid while it
is still in good condition and not wait until it has
started to form these byproducts.
White Paper: Basics of Rotary Screw Compressor Lubricants

Storage, handling and transferring lubricants af-

fect the cleanliness of the fluid. It is very impor-
tant to use only clean, dedicated containers and
transfer pumps. Do not use one pump for several
different fluids. Even a small amount of residual
fluid in a pump can contaminate an entire sump.

Conclusion

Lubricant is a critical component in rotary screw

compressors. Its condition is the key element in
determining the service life of the machine, and it
is constantly exposed to contamination. In order
to maximize the service life of the compressor,
follow these rules:
1. Locate the compressor inlet to draw clean,
cool air.
2. If the compressor is air-cooled, provide
clean, cool air to inlet of the cooling air system.
Keep coolers clean.
3. If the compressor is water-cooled, provide
clean, cool water to the heat exchanger. Clean or
replace the cooler if it becomes fouled. Fouling
restricts heat transfer.
4. Sample the lubricant frequently.
5. Stop the compressor once per week and
check for water in the separator reservoir. Drain
off any water found. In hot and humid environ-
ments, this may have to be done more often.
6. Inlet filtration is the first line of defense.
Clean the inlet filter often and replace when
required. Examine the connection between the
filter and the airend for leaks to make certain no
ambient air is drawn in behind the filter. Check
filter fit for a good seal.
7. Change the lubricant before it gets near
the end of its life. Depleted lubricant left in a Contact us to learn more:
compressor (even a relatively small amount) can
significantly reduce the service life of the new Kaeser Compressors, Inc.
lubricant. If the lubricant has started to fail, use a 877-586-2691
lubricant flush prior to changing the fluid. www.kaeser.com
8. Properly apply compressors to avoid low info.usa@kaeser.com
duty cycles, keeping temperatures within their
designed operating range.

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